Beyond Bogart

Posters from the 1942 Hollywood film line all the walls even as the main floor with its assembly of drums has Bogart8217;s face as its backdrop. The bar looks just like the one in the classic movie that this Moroccan city is best known for, even today.

Indeed this hotspot is reflective of the city8217;s overall attempt to hang on to its old-world charm8212;its main draw, really8212;in the face of fast change, apparent economic progress and that new, modern varnish. A look quite at variance with the vision conjured up by all those tales from The Arabian Nights.

The contrast is striking. On the streets where a young girl walks about in the trendiest designer wear, arm-in-arm with a friend clad in traditional robe and scarf. In the town where it8217;s easier to find a discotheque today than a belly dance performance. In the scores of Pizza Huts, KFCs and McDonald8217;s at every corner, overshadowing that lane you need to manoeuvre your way through for a taste of camel meat. And finally, in the startling contrast between the haves and have-nots much like in India as seen in the old walled city with its small, rough-textured homes huddled together and Anaf, Morocco8217;s most expensive residential zone, with its royal golf course and racing track. Here, even a modest home would cost around five million dollars.

But perhaps it8217;s best to take advantage of that great human quality8212;selective memory8212;to savour Casablanca in the way it deserves to be. Like the first sight that greets you as you make your way outside the port and onto the palm-lined town area flanked by souvenir shops. Men with flowing robes sit with their medieval wares of brass pots, kettles, handwoven rugs, stained glass lamps and, of course, the shisha or hookah, which may be a rage in India nowadays but is a way of life in Morocco.

Aziz, our cabbie-cum-guide with whom we strike a bargain of 40 for a four-hour tour of the city, waves dismissively at the line of shops and takes us to a 8216;8216;better one8217;8217;. It turns out to be brother Mohammad8217;s store, double both in size and prices. We buy postcards, making a mental note to trudge back for the shisha later.

The next stop is predictable8212;the magnificent Hasan II mosque built on water8212;both the location and the mosque8217;s intricate carvings are stunning.

From there it8217;s on to Casa Blanca; the first house of the city that apparently gave the place its name as well as its overall look, with Casa meaning house and Blanca meaning White. It8217;s a dilapidated structure standing on a lone reef at the edge of the water with small white rooms that double up as homes for the descendants of the original family. There is no way of verifying the authenticity of the story, but it is clear why most of the buildings and homes in Casablanca are white.

You rush through the walled old city that does seem to be the kind Aladdin must have lived in, the ritzy Anaf area, the old palace, the swanky new city lined with designer European stores and the beach, to finally stop at the centre. Here, thousands of pigeons and hundreds of residents and tourists flock every evening around a fountain to sit and savour the sights.

This is the touristy Casa. The rest is what you see. Two sights linger in the mind. One is of the long line of fine beach, which is quite empty. Instead, scores of swimming pools constructed on the beaches8212;where people happily swim, sunbathe or sip a cool drink8212;are full, as the Atlantic simply provides a picturesque backdrop.

The second is the plethora of cafes that perhaps is the legacy of the French who had colonised Morocco. All the chairs in the cafe face the huge glass pane that looks out onto the road. That, plus the line of chairs outside the cafe facing the road, results in clients sitting for hours nursing a cup of Moroccan tea or coffee and watching life go by. Aziz explains it as a need to 8216;8216;pass time.8217;8217;

We strike up a conversation with a cafe owner. I want to know more about the places where Casablanca was shot. As we reply to his expected query of 8216;8216;Indian or Pakistani?8221; the conversation turns to familiar territory. 8216;8216;India-ah, Amitabh Bachchan!8217;8217; says our man, beaming. Casablanca is forgotten. He tells us, 8216;8216;I watch many Amitabh movies8230; Sholay, Andhaa Kanoon. His friend Shashi Kapoor is good too.8217;8217;

Time has indeed gone by in Casablanca.